Only day three?!

So - I can already tell that my brain is going to explode by the end of this trip. So much has happened already. Yesterday we went walking around Belfast (bought a nice coat which will be great for Bush School when I get back - and so cheap!!!) and did some shopping. Michael has a FANTASTIC sense of direction. I, however, was useless in the navigational department. 

We did visit the Titanic Memorial with our friend (newly named Archibald "Woody" Woodsong) and spent some time reading all the names of people who drowned when the ship went down. I never realised Belfast had built the Titanic! In the afternoon we met our Celtic Tour group and then went on something called a "Black Cab Tour"

The Black Cab Tour afforded us two guides: one Catholic and one Protestant. They took us around Belfast showing us and telling us all about the unrest and fighting going on between the two - it's a feud which I never knew anything about, and is a very recent and still, it seems, ongoing issue in Ireland. It was very interesting hearing the tour told from both sides of the Peace Wall (a wall similar to the Berlin wall which was erected to control/diminish the fighting). It was a somewhat somber tour, but it made me realise just how little I know about the world, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

After that, a walking tour and then on to dinner and drinks to get to know our tour group better. We went to a pub called Filthy McNasty's where I had a Strawberry and Basil "drink in a jar". I bought it purely because it was in a jar, and instantly regretted it because it tasted like a flat cruiser.... or lifesavers dissolved in water. Regardless, it was a great night! 

Next morning (6/6/15) we got up early for breakfast and then left Belfast for Derry and Galway. On the way we stopped for a little walk/hike to see the Giant's Causeway - a beautiful cliff, rock, and hillside on the coast. So fantastic!! But also very windy and cold. We were given little portable audio tours which we carried and then as we walked the tour the audio would tell us awesome stories about the rock formations and the history of the area. 

After that we stopped in Derry (or Londonderry to some...) for lunch, and a little look at some bridges and murals, and then on to Galway. The hotel here is nice - there's even a spa and a gym in the hotel, and we are staying here for two nights. This afternoon we did a walking tour of Galway and heard some amazing stories and saw some seriously cool stuff. People who live here walk right past this amazing history every day!! We saw where James Lynch hanged his son - literally where the term lynch came from!! We also saw some castles which are now right in between shopping malls, and the Spanish Arch where we got two hear some pirate stories. Considering buying a Clannad ring now, just as a souvenir of such an amazing story. Ireland, you are amazing us!!!! 

There are so many beautiful churches  cemeteries around too, I know you would appreciate these mum! Can't wait to show you more pics. For dinner we ate at an awesome Mexican place called Cactus Jack - seriously yummy food, and was a nice change from pub food and hotel food haha. Tomorrow we go to the Aran Islands - a real step back in time. Can't wait! Love to you all.